Saturday, October 25, 2008

My Latest Studio

I almost have my studio put together - yay!! I waffled back and forth about what to do for a studio in this new house. It's only three bedrooms, so I wasn't sure whether I should take up a whole room for myself or squeeze into the corner of what would be the guest bedroom. In the end I realized that A) I have way too much stuff to NOT have a whole room and B) I work much better in a dedicated, peaceful space.

Two weeks ago, this is what my studio looked like - a big mess!!


I hate white walls, so I decided to paint the room a neutral green color to darken it up. Here's a view of the room after I painted and organized a bit (those are Aspen's first watercolors on her easel to the right!):


Right now I have my palette on a table that Nate threw together in five minutes with some scrap wood. I'll eventually replace it with something that has some shelves underneath and doors so I can store all my extra paint/mineral spirits/brushes somewhere out of sight:


This house has 10 foot ceilings, so I can extend my easel enough to do a 30x40" painting without having to adjust any knobs (I still love my easel, by the way), which is really nice.


My frames are stuffed in the closet and leaning up against the wall, along with finished paintings that I'm getting ready to send out to galleries and shows. This is the part of my studio that I hate - I'm not a big fan of clutter. I'd love to have a studio someday that has a separate room for framing!!


I recently bought some vertical organizers at the office supply store to put small finished paintings in. I stole this idea from another artist who had these in a studio picture, and while I don't remember who the arist was, I'm really grateful! They're a good cheap way to keep plein air studies organized while they dry.


I keep one up on a table that I put wet panels in as I finish them - the great thing about these plastic ones is that they don't touch the panels anywhere where they're wet.


Anyhow, that's my studio. Here's the view from the window - lots of big, blue sky!


I'm thrilled to have a studio inside the house again! Working in the garage at the condo was functional, but a little bit demotivating (who wants to spend the day in a garage with no windows?).

15 comments:

  1. The studio looks wonderful. I agree - a garage studio sounds very demotivating - hurray for your windows - greata view.

    I hung my very own original Stacey Peterson painting yesterday and it looks fabulous. Thank you!

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  2. Wow- I'm impressed- you've made more progress on your studio than I have on mine in over a year. Well done!

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  3. Lisa pointed to your blog and I'm so glad to have found you. Your organisation is inspiring. :) And is that a lovely Sorg easel???

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  4. beautiful studio, great wall color. my studio is so cluttered, this is a wonderful workspace. i love the minimalist look to it. someday i hope to build a custom studio space with a giant walk in storage closet i can store everything in and have a beautiful painting area like this. definitely beats the garage. love aspens watercolors. i'm going to start shelby in fingerpaints this winter.

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  5. I'm visiting by way of Lisa's blog and I work in a garage studio and yes it is demoralizing.

    I work with clay though and can't really work inside the house because of dust, the kilns and glaze chemicals. If I weren't thinking of moving in the next year, my dream is to remove the garage door and to replace it with a bank of floor to ceiling windows and to add skylights.

    Beautiful work!

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  6. Lisa - I'm glad the painting has found a good home!

    Deborah - this house is technically still for sale, so I had some motivation to get my studio looking presentable enough for showings.

    Tina - thanks for stopping by! I've been lurking on your blog for a while =) And yes, that's a Sorg easel - I love it love it love it. David Sorg is the nicest guy (he's another Colorado artist!), and I couldn't recommend the easel more...

    Christine - I just bought fingerpaints for Aspen, but we haven't tried them yet so tell me how that goes (I'm a little worried about how much of a mess they'll be!). I love that she likes to paint - it's so cute!

    Cynthia - isn't it terrible trying to be creative in a room that gets no sunlight at all? I know your pain! I love your work, btw - I checked out your blog and love reading about what you're doing in clay.

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  7. Thank you so much for the glimpse into your studio, Stacey.

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  8. Lovely colour on the walls, nice studio, amazing view!!

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  9. Great studio space. I have high ceilings, too. Aren't they great?
    and those file organizers are a fantastic idea. The simple ideas are so often the best. Thanks for sharing.

    Your ears were probably burning yesterday . . . I spoke about the business of art to a class of college seniors yesterday - art students getting ready to go out into the "real world." I told them your blog is required reading for inspiration and an clear understanding of how life as an artist should be lived.

    Your honestly and willingness to share is amazing.

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  10. Stacey,

    YI love our space...and I really like the colour you chose for the walls. I agree that, though an artist can create anywhere, having a beautiful, designated space is definitely a necessity.

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  11. Wow! That studio is beautiful. I'm very jealous....lol :)

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  12. Great studio. Mine is a disaster. Maybe I need to move and start over!

    About the finger paints. I remember when we first got Erin finger paints she did not like the feeling of it on her hands and was unsure about just diving in. I don't know why because she used her hands with her water colors.

    Can I ask a question about your frames? I see a gold one with dark brown sides. I used to get frames just like that and loved them, but my supplier closed his business. Where are you getting those?

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  13. I can already tell Aspen is quite talented. But I would expect nothing less from a princess of her caliber.

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  14. Thanks for the tour. I love the wall color and the Oriental rug. Your work is beautiful and you are so well organized.

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  15. What a beautiful studio you now have! Thank you for the peek into your new home... I cannot imagine how much effort it must have taken to pack up, move, paint and organize a house AND studio - all around a young daughter! You are one amazing person! I look forward to seeing more of your wonderful paintings now that you are settled. Isn't it great to live in a place where the sky is so vast and intense in color? It always gives me the sense of freedom and space and possibilities! Take care.
    Joanne

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